


Deeds and Repercussions

by CMA6725



Series: Of Men and Legends [13]
Category: Zorro (TV 1990), Zorro - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Poisoning, Revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29899497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CMA6725/pseuds/CMA6725
Summary: Ynez Risendo returns to take her revenge on the De la Vegas and De Soto.
Series: Of Men and Legends [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2177262
Kudos: 2





	Deeds and Repercussions

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters nor make any money off of this, but I do own the story and I do not agree to anyone copying it anywhere else.

The month of September 1821 passed quite peacefully for the Pueblo de Los Angeles. The newlyweds left on their honeymoon, Mendoza taking over for De Soto and Diego for Jessie, and the only time Zorro needed to ride was to help find two children who had gotten lost, just a few days after the new couple left. He brought them to the pueblo, and even took some time to compliment Victoria and accept the parents' gratitude, since the lancers took no action against him.

Diego, however, was not especially free that month since he took advantage of the newlyweds absence to put his promise into practice and, after drawing up the plans, he started the work on converting the small farmhouse on his frenemy's new lands into a real hacienda. With some help from the enlisted men, Felipe and some of the Mission's Indians, the caballero transformed the three-room house into an eight-room building in just a few weeks. By the time the De Sotos returned, the house was ready, and the only thing left for them to do was furnishing it.

Jessie took one good look at it, her eyes in tears, then enthusiastically embraced the De la Vegas and Mendoza, who had supervised the entire operation whenever Diego was needed someplace else.

"There are a few carpenters at the Mission which might make you good furniture." Diego suggested after showing the couple around their new house.

"Yes, well… We'll see about that…" De Soto replied, oscillating between disbelief, gratitude, and a little jealousy about Diego's and Jessie's particularly close relationship.

Truth be told, he appreciated the caballero's surprise, and his men's contribution to it, but was also quite unaccustomed to generosity, and didn't know how to take their gesture. He was also feeling rather guilty towards the De la Vegas and Mendoza for his past behavior, for which reason the fact that they had offered him a house made him feel worse, rather than better.

Diego nodded and, soon enough, they all left the newlyweds alone, heading for the pueblo.

"What is wrong?" Jessie asked her husband, as soon as they were left by themselves.

"Nothing. Why would anything be wrong?" He wondered.

She just gave him one of those looks which made words unnecessary.

"I… I just can't understand them. Why have they given us this land… this house? I said and did horrible things in the past. I threatened to have a lancer shoot Diego once, and I already told you I almost executed his father. Diego should hate me. I would hate me if I was him! And Mendoza… I tried to execute him just a couple of months after I came her… And I took away his house…"

"When did you do that?" Jessie wondered.

"A while back… I… I think there are a few things I should tell you about my past behavior, but I fear you might hate me if I do. And I couldn't stand losing you." Ignacio confessed.

Jessie took in a deep breath, then looked straight into his eyes. "I know whom I married." She told him. "I am not blind, my love. I know you have faults. I know you are not the person I'd like you to be. But I also believe that you might one day become that man, and I will do my best to help you, in my own way, no matter what. Now… please tell me!"

Ignacio felt instantly disarmed. After taking a few moments to summon up all his courage, he started confessing everything he had kept from her, all the worst things he had done since arriving in Los Angeles, from burning down Mendoza's house, almost killing the sergeant, in order to cover his fraud, to his role in the death of Don Alejandro's first love, Mercedes Henche, to shooting Lieutenant Hidalgo while trying to kill Zorro and blaming the crime on the masked outlaw, and to abandoning Mendoza to be die in agony at the Emissary's hand.

By the time he had finished, Jessie needed a break from him, so she stepped outside without a word, which just left him in despair, certain that she would not be able to love him anymore.

She stood in the courtyard and stared at the horizon for a while, trying to remind herself that it had been her choice to marry De Soto and that there was still hope for him. After recollecting her thoughts, the young woman returned to her husband. "Here's what you're going to do." She said. "You are going to make amends for each and every one of those deeds. You cannot bring people back from the dead. Nobody can. But you will be a better man, the man I deserve for a husband, and you will start making up to all those who are still alive."

Ignacio just nodded and embraced her, holding her tighter than ever before.

ZZZ

It was a year to the day since the De la Vegas had buried Gilberto.

As per Don Alejandro's wish, he had been laid to rest next to his dead mother, and there were always fresh flowers on their graves. Yet, despite the time passed, the don was still at a loss to understand why his son had been stolen and raised by that midwife to hate him and Diego.

Señora Risendo had refused to speak after that fateful day, and she was sent to Spain to face charges for having abducted the Gilberto. In the months which followed, Don Alejandro had written to his dead wife's family in Madrid to recount everything to them and ask for clues that might lead him to some answers. From the replies he received, he only learned that the evil woman had never arrived to her destination, having thrown herself into the sea on her way there. Thus, in time, the old caballero set aside every hope to understand her actions and tried to forget and forgive the past and the son he only found when it was already too late.

Luckily, he thought, he still had the best son he could have wished for, even if he was an extremely frustrating man at times. There were many things about Diego he couldn't understand. Yet, for all the frustration his heir was causing him, Don Alejandro gave thanks every day for the son he had and for the fact that it had been him the one God had spared a year earlier.

As per the elderly don's wish, that morning, the De la Vegas went to the cemetery to pray for Gilberto and for Doña Elena, then headed home at a slow pace, each prey to his own thoughts.

They had just left the main road, entering their lands, when five armed men ambushed them, guns in their hands.

"What do you want?" Don Alejandro asked as Diego was assessing his chances against them.

"You'll find out soon enough. Dismount!" The leader of the bandits ordered.

They found it prudent to obeyed, so did as asked. Moments later, they were all hit on their heads and fell down unconscious.

The adopted De la Vega regained his consciousness a while later, finding himself tied up, gagged and completely alone.

ZZZ

"Sergeant Mendoza!" Gomez addressed his superior a few hours later, while he was standing on the tavern's terrace, enjoying a pre-lunch drink, just as the taverness was exiting with the food plates.

"What is it, Corporal?"

"It's Alcalde De Soto. He and his wife came in this morning, but we can't find him anywhere, Sir. And the Doctor is also missing." He answered.

"They are newlyweds, Corporal. They probably just wanted some time alone." Victoria suggested.

"I doubt that, Señorita! He always leaves word and the Doctor missed two appointments already."

"The Señorita is right, Corporal." Mendoza agreed with Victoria, mainly because he wanted to be left alone to his tamales. "The Alcalde might have just forgotten to inform us, and the Doctor might have some emergency to take care of. Go get Don Diego, or tell the people waiting that they should return tomorrow!"

The Corporal nodded and headed for the medical office. Since one of Jessie's patients had a bad toothache, though, Gomez took pity on him and headed for the De la Vega hacienda in the hope Diego was available. Just as he left the main road, he stumbled on Felipe. The young man had almost succeeded in freeing himself, but was more than happy for the help the lancer immediately gave him.

"What happened, Don Felipe?" Gomez asked.

The young man signed his answer, but the lancer didn't understand much more than 'hit on the head' and 'taken'.

Giving up trying to understand what he was saying, Gomez helped the youngest De la Vega on his horse and headed towards the hacienda.

"Do not worry, Don Felipe!" He told him as he was mounting. "Don Diego will know what you are trying to say."

The young don shook his head in disappointment, wishing he could speak.

ZZZ

When Don Alejandro and Diego regained consciousness, they were tied up, gagged and draped over their saddles, heading southeast. About an hour later, as the young caballero was working on freeing himself, the horses stopped and they were moved into a covered wagon, where they saw the two De Sotos lying next to them, both in a similar predicament as the De la Vegas. The bandits, unfortunately, were rather astute as they checked the bindings on all four of the people they had abducted. Realizing that Diego was close to freeing himself, they tied him up better, preventing any further attempt to escape.

ZZZ

The servant answering the hacienda's door was not one of those most familiar with Felipe's signs, so the young man ran to the kitchen and asked Maria to accompany him back, while the lancer was being informed that the masters of the house had not returned since they had left that morning.

The woman came to the door and started interpreting her young master's signs, a little confused about the urgency.

"Don Felipe wants me to tell you that… they were assaulted by bandits on their way back from the cemetery. Ay, Dios!" She told Gomez. "There were five men who pointed guns at the patrons… and they took Don Alejandro and Don Diego! The Alcalde must organize a search party!"

"Si… Of course… Except we can't find the Alcalde, either. I... I'll go tell Sergeant Mendoza immediately!"

As the lancer left at a gallop and Maria hurried to inform the other De la Vega employees about their patrons being abducted, Felipe made his way to the cave. There, after hesitating for a few moments, he put on a the black clothes he had worn when last he needed to impersonate Zorro to help Diego, cape, mask and fake moustache included – just in case anyone got close enough to him. Another full Zorro costume he hid in one of the saddlebags – should Diego need to take over - while the other he filled with medical supplies and explosives. When everything was ready, he left on Tornado.

ZZZ

Gomez arrived in Los Angeles in record time and, after dispatching another of the soldiers to the De Soto hacienda in the hope to find Jessie and the Alcalde there, Mendoza and half the garrison left searching for the De la Vegas. Felipe only beat them by ten minutes in returning to the place where he had last seen Diego and Don Alejandro.

Picking up Dulcinea's trail, considering the mare had a sore hoof and her special shoe was the easiest one to follow, he made his way southeast. Mendoza and his lancers spotted him in the distance and didn't even bother to pick up the trail, just followed him, certain the masked outlaw's presence there was not a coincidence, thus concluding that he was also trying to help the De la Vegas.

Felipe rode for some eight miles until he reached a ravine. The trail suddenly stopped there and, scanning the horizon, he noticed the three horses he and his adoptive family had ridden to town that morning tied up to a tree, about a hundred feet downstream. As he was heading towards them, he finally noticed, in his peripheral vision, the lancers following him, just 300 yards away. Hurrying towards the mounts, he noticed the trail left by a wagon, right near them. Having to make a fast decision, lest the lancers reach him, he followed the wagon trails, steering Tornado again to a gallop.

"Zorro!" He heard Mendoza's voice. "Wait, Zorro! We just want to help! We will not try to capture you!"

Felipe dug his heels further into the stallion and soon put enough distance between himself and the lancers, while Mendoza was scratching his head as they stopped by the ravine, watching him ride away.

"Get the horses!" The Sergeant ordered his men, wondering if to continue to try and follow Zorro or just return to the pueblo since it was already late afternoon and the masked outlaw didn't seem to appreciate the company.

At about the same time, the thought crossed Felipe's mind that, considering five men had abduct the two older De la Vegas, he might need help taking them down, so he suddenly stopped Tornado and, turning towards Mendoza, signaled for him and his men to follow him.

ZZZ

It was already past siesta when the wagon finally stopped at a small cottage and three of the men turned back to erase their tracks, while the others started taking its occupants into the house, one-by-one. They were made to sit on the ground, facing each other, the two De la Vegas on one side of the room and the De Sotos on the other.

The place was not very big and smelled of mold and a strange mixture or spices. As it was situated in the middle of the woods, despite it being day outside, inside it was rather dark. The men who brought them in stood by the door, expecting orders, as their leader went to another room, knocking on the door and leaving it open behind him.

"Have you gotten all four of them?" Diego heard a voice he and his father both recognized.

"Si, Señora. Just as we promised." One of the thugs answered, and a few moments later Ynez Risendo made her way out of the other room, heading towards them to check they were the people she wanted.

The woman seemed to have aged a decade during the past year, and was thinner and bonnier than they remembered her, a change in appearance that made Jessie - who had never seen her before - wonder if she was some kind of witch.

"Make them drink this!" Ynez asked the bandit leader while pouring a liquid into four glasses.

The man signaled for two of his men to do as asked. They started with Jessie and ended up with Diego, taking off the gags and forcing the foul drink down their throats, not giving their prisoners the chance to refuse it and causing them all to cough violently as some of the liquid made its way to their lungs.

"What was that?" De Soto inquired after he stopped coughing.

"What do you want from us?" Don Alejandro asked hatefully, as he also regained his ability to speak. "And how are you even alive, Señora?"

"You may leave now." Ynez dismissed her men, who simply headed outside. "To answer each of your questions…" she then addressed the hostages with a smile on her face, "that, Alcalde De Soto, was poison. Those taking it have exactly one hour of life left, unless they drink the antidote." As she said that, she took a small break, to look at her prisoners' faces. "What I want…" she then continued, "is for you to suffer." She said that while glancing between De Soto and Don Alejandro "I want you to suffer just as I have suffered when you took away the only two men I have ever loved. As for how I am still alive… I'm not stupid, De la Vega! I knew what awaited me in Spain. I would have been condemned for killing that stupid maid who helped me take Gilberto… and for whatever other crimes you must have mentioned in the letters you sent with my son's Royal Guardsmen. They wouldn't have even listened to me to understand my reasons. They would have just believed you, because you are a rich don, a friend of the Royal Family! So, since people wouldn't give me justice, I made a deal with the Devil himself to spare me, so that I could enact my vengeance… and he did. He sent me one of Gilberto's loyal men to help me escape. He got me to safety and left me enough money to live the rest of my days in… decent conditions. But I don't care about living if I don't have what I want. So I made my way back here, and used the money to find good helpers. And then I waited patiently for this day to finally arrive!"

"You're mad!" Don Alejandro uttered. "A disturbed, hateful criminal it's what you are, Señora! Haven't you done enough harm?"

"You said men." Diego remarked, having paid attention to every word she said and at how she said it. "De Soto killed Gilberto. I get that. But why did you take him in the first place? What has my family ever done to you?"

"Not your family… your father. Your dear father is responsible for the death of the man I loved, the man I was supposed to marry." She stated as the two De la Vegas glanced at each other, a puzzled look on Don Alejandro's face. "The true heir to the De la Vega fortune… his older brother, Alfonso." She continued. "We only had a brief time together before he left for Panama, then for New Spain. But I know he would have married me had he been the one to return. Your uncle died, and your father inherited what should have been my home. My hacienda! It should have been my children, mine and Alfonso's, to inherit everything one day, not you!" She answered.

Diego again glanced at his father.

"You… It was you! You wrote to me after Alfonso's death! My brother never even mentioned you!" Don Alejandro told her, enraged.

"You did all this because my uncle was killed in battle? My father had nothing to do with his death!" Diego uttered in disbelief.

"Alfonso wouldn't have left me had it not been for his dear little brother! Your father took him away to war, left him to die and refused to acknowledge me when Alfonso didn't return!" She replied. "I wrote to tell you… to demand my rights as the woman who was meant to be Alfonso's wife! And, instead of respecting the memory of your brother, you humiliated me!" She stated, this time addressing Don Alejandro.

"Wait… All this… You are about to kill us… and everything started because you were in love with his brother? Not his wife… just in love with him… and you weren't recognized as his wife… since you… weren't! Were you two even engaged?" Jessie asked incredulously.

"Had Alfonso been engaged, he would have told me about it! He wasn't even courting anyone." Don Alejandro replied instead.

"He left before making our relation official." Ynez told him. "It was all your fault! But it doesn't matter anymore. Today… Today I finally get my vengeance. Mine, Alfonso's and Gilberto's." She uttered, a mad look on her face. "But… to prove that I am merciful, I will offer you these." As she said that, she took out of a drawer two small bottles and opened them, placing one in front of the De la Vegas and one in front of the De Sotos. "The antidote. One dose it's only enough for one person and, since there are only two, it's up to you to decide who should take it. You have about forty minutes left, Señores y Señora. Your time is running out." As she said that she exited the cabin closing the door behind her, a malicious smile on her lips.

The four people inside stood a few minutes in silence before Jessie broke it.

"She's mad!" She stated. "She's just mad! We're going to die because of a mad woman!"

"Any idea what poison she gave us?" Diego asked her as he was, again, trying to free himself.

Jessie just shook her head, a mixture of disappointment and fear on her face.

"This is all my fault! I should have met with her… I should have acted differently." Don Alejandro stated, staring at the ground. "Had I seen her before… Had I, at least, remembered her name, I could have prevented all this… Gilberto could have grown up as my son. I would have had both my sons and we wouldn't be in this predicament right now."

"You couldn't have known, Father!" Diego encouraged him. "Jessie is right. The woman must be mad. All this… all the harm she caused us, she did it because of a fantasy."

"May I remind you all that we need to decide on who should get the antidote?" De Soto pointed out. "And I think… since Don Alejandro was the one to cause all this mess in the first place, as he, himself just admitted, and this is mainly a De la Vega issue, I think it should be me and my wife to get it."

"You? I might be of fault here. I certainly will not claim the right to that antidote. I've already lived my life, anyway… But Diego is innocent in all this. And a far better person than you! Not to mention, it was you who killed Gilberto."

"I saved Diego by doing that, which means he owes me for the year of life he received thanks to me."

"By killing Gilberto you also saved yourself!" Don Alejandro pointed out. "Gilberto would have had you executed that very day if he would have survived."

"But the Emissary wouldn't have even come to Los Angeles had it not been for the woman's twisted vengeance against you!" De Soto stated.

"Diego saved your wife's life. He's done more for Los Angeles than you ever could, and he is my heir!" Don Alejandro uttered.

"Ignacio," Jessie said looking straight at her husband, "we need to do what's right. Remember?"

De Soto stared at her and shook his head. "I… I don't want to die! How am I supposed to make up for my mistakes if I die now?"

"How will you make up for them if they die?" She wondered.

"No… No… I just married you. Finally, something goes right for me and you want me to… to just accept dying?" De Soto wondered.

"Do you think I want you to die? Or either of them? But we both know Diego deserves that antidote more than you, and I am willing to die with you, my love. We can save them!" She uttered, her eyes in tears.

The two continued arguing a while longer, and Don Alejandro also intervened, trying to convince Jessie that she needed to take the antidote and he was more than willing to die if she was to survive.

De Soto was afraid to die, and wanted to avoid that at almost any cost, but he also remembered that he had promised Jessie to become a better man. What he could not, however, was let the woman he loved die, so he found himself supporting Don Alejandro's arguments for once, no longer even discussing the idea of letting Diego take one of the vials.

Jessie, however, insisted that she would not convince Ignacio to give up the chance to survive, but take it herself.

Among the four of them, the tall caballero was the only one not intervening, his mind focused on Señora Risendo's words.

"Enough!" He uttered after some time. The other three people in the room suddenly became silent and turned their attention towards him. "The only reasonable consensus we can reach is for Jessie and I to take the antidote." De Soto didn't even try to contradict him, but Jessie stared at him dumbfounded. He then continued in a low voice, careful not to be overheard. "The only person in this room we'd all agree deserves the antidote is Jessie. She's the first one we'd all chose. And among the three of us, you seem to have already made up your minds it should be me. But what if that choice… any choice for that matter, would be the wrong one?"

"What do you mean, Son?" Don Alejandro asked him puzzled, his voice merely above whisper.

"She brought us here, the four of us, because she wants you and Ignacio to feel the pain she felt. That's what she said." Diego answered pensively. "It would have been simpler to take us three and give us just one bottle of the antidote, then let us choose or fight amongst ourselves for it. Or, easier even, she could have taken only you and Ignacio, since it's the two of you who are guilty in her eyes. Yet she chose to abduct all four of us. And remember what she said? That part about making a deal with the Devil?

"From her perspective, you cost her a spouse and a son… and she wants you to suffer a similar loss. I am the son and Jessie is the spouse. Even the vials… she placed them right before the two of us, perfectly aware of the fact that, if we'd choose, we'd make the choice I already mentioned. Jessie and myself. Meaning… Meaning that those vials contain no antidote."

"They contain the real poison." Jessie also realized.

"That is the only logical conclusion." The tall caballero stated.

"She'd have us commit suicide. That is a mortal sin!" Jessie continued.

As she said that, Diego glanced towards the windows, noticing a shadow behind one. "Ynez and her men are still here." He uttered pensively.

"So what should we do?" Don Alejandro asked.

"If we don't take the poison, she'll know we figured out her trap and can simply ask her men to kill us!" The caballero answered. "So we must make her think we fell into her trap. It is the only way to get out of this alive."

"What do you mean?" De Soto wondered.

"Jessie and I must pretend to take the poison. Then we must pretend that we are dying." Diego stated.

"But to be convincing, we should know what symptoms we need to fake." Jessie pointed out. A few moments later, she lowered herself towards the vial in front of her trying to smell it. "I took a course in poisons at the university," she said, "but this I do not recognize."

"It's probably not poison!" De Soto answered disparagingly. "Diego must be wrong. It's not like his books could have taught him much about traps and how to avoid them!"

"I don't believe he is wrong, Ignacio. This certainly doesn't smell like any antidote I know, either, and his theory makes the most sense." She contradicted him. "Think about it this way: if he is wrong, at least we all die together, and none of us gets to go through the pain of burying a loved one as a result of this."

The caballeros glanced at each other and nodded, a frightened look on Don Alejandro's face and a reassuring smile on Diego's.

"We can trick her into describing the symptoms. But we must also trick her into believing we are dead." The younger caballero told Jessie, then addressed his father and De Soto. "And the two of you must make her think you believe we took the antidote which proved to be the poison. You must act your parts!"

"Wait… What… What if that is indeed poison, and you drink it accidentally?" De Soto asked.

"We won't." Diego replied as he nodded at Jessie. "Ready?" He asked.

She smiled back and they both reached for the bottles with their mouth, grabbing them sideway, so that they'd pour the poison on the floor instead of drinking it, then turned towards Don Alejandro and De Soto, respectively, so that anyone looking through the window would only notice them throw their heads back as if to drink the liquid in the small bottles. They then let the vials fall and moved to sit in such a way as to cover the liquid stain on the floor, even if, in all fairness, it was barely visible due to the very faint light still left in the room.

"I love you, Father." Diego uttered in a raised voice a few moments later. "Thank you for letting me take the antidote. I know you blame yourself for all this, but I don't. And I want you to know that you were the best father I could have asked for."

"And you were the best son, Diego! I would die a thousand times for you, my boy!" Don Alejandro replied, not needing to fake anything since he still feared the day might end in tragedy.

"I thought we were going to have a long marriage. Grow old together. I can't believe this is how it ends!" Jessie told De Soto. "But I am grateful that you let me take the antidote, my love. I will always remember you!"

"I never loved before you, mi preciosa. I will still count myself a lucky man, even just because I married the most wonderful woman I have ever met!" De Soto stated.

"I… I don't feel too good." Diego informed the other three people as he started mimicking some problems breathing.

"Me neither…" Jessie uttered, following his lead.

"Wh… What… What's going on?" Don Alejandro wondered, looking genuinely baffled towards his son, and Jessie, not realizing they were pretending already. Diego winked at him and he breathed somewhat relieved.

After witnessing the two take the poison from outside a window, Ynez Risendo chose that very moment to step inside, a wide smile on her face.

"What did you do to us?" Diego asked her.

"I did nothing. It was you, yourselves who took the poison. Yes," she said satisfied, "the real poison was in those vials, which you just drank, thus committing suicide. I am told it takes some five minutes to act, but the death is supposed to be quite agonizing. Your organs will literally disintegrate…"

Diego let out a groan and Jessie, again, followed his lead.

"And as the poison does its work, you will pray for death to come quicker."

The two continued crying and groaning, pretending to be in deep pain, twitching and convulsing on the floor.

"No!" Don Alejandro shouted, doing his best impression of a grieving father. "No! No! No! Diego!"

"I will kill you for this!" De Soto threatened Ynez Risendo. "My love!" He then uttered, looking terrified towards Jessie, all his artistic talents on display.

"I told you I wanted you to feel my pain and pay the price for your crimes!" Ynez told Don Alejandro and De Soto, her loud voice covering the cries coming from the two people on the floor. "Now you can watch those you love most die without being able to do anything for them. I will forever remember your faces, Señores!"

Diego and Jessie continued their act a while longer, then slowly fell quiet, pretending to have died. Don Alejandro and De Soto followed through for a while, shaking their heads in disbelief and pretending to be devastated, crying over their loved ones. Ynez didn't even bother to check that they were dead, convinced by the entire act. Smiling satisfied, she turned around and left together with her men.

The four only stopped acting when they heard the horses and the wagon heading away.

"I can't believe it worked!" Jessie muttered. "See, Ignacio? Diego was right! He saved us!"

"Indeed! Good thinking, Son! And very convincing acting!" Don Alejandro stated.

"Yes… Yes... Good thinking, De la Vega!" De Soto acknowledged.

"We still need to get ourselves free before they decide to return…" The caballero reminded everyone as he encouraged his father to turn with his back at him so that he could work on the knots.

Jessie and Ignacio followed their example and started working on each other's bindings.

"I had no idea you were such a good actor, Ignacio! I'm impressed." Jessie stated.

"Well… I was part of a theatre group when I was in university. I might have learned a few things…" He replied, proud of himself.

"And you, Diego, you were magnificent! You should take up acting professionally. On second thought, if you did that, I would lose my colleague, so just ignore I said that." Jessie continued.

"I guess I also owe my acting skills to the same theatre group Ignacio just mentioned." Diego answered. "Although, I am quite sure I used to be better. What can I say… Lack of practice…"

"Give yourself some credit, Son!" Don Alejandro encouraged him. "Had I not known it was all an act, I, myself would have been convinced you were dying!"

"That is true, Diego! I had forgotten you were a good actor in university." De Soto became rather pensive as he said that. "How… How come you…" De Soto asked, somewhat uncertain of how to continue, just turning his head to stare at the caballero as he was starting to notice things he had never noticed before. Like how tall he was or how his moustache resembled that of a certain masked outlaw plaguing his pueblo…

Diego noticed his stare from the corner of his eye, realizing Ignacio might be finally piecing everything together, soon to arrive at the only logical conclusion.

"How were you able to realize it was a trap? None of us even suspected it, and we are all intelligent people here." Ignacio wondered, his tone of voice changed into the same one he normally used when he was certain to have the upper hand.

"I just wondered why give us the antidote at all, instead of just shooting us, as they could have." Diego replied innocently. "Father, please either stay still and let me try to untie you, or untie me!" He then asked the older caballero, seemingly frustrated.

"Well, let me do it! It's not like you have any experience untying knots, do you?" Don Alejandro answered, slightly eroding De Soto's suspicion that he had just found out who his nemesis was.

A few moments later they heard horse hoofs approaching and they all rapidly resumed their previous positions, Jessie and Diego lying on the ground, and De Soto and Don Alejandro pretending to be crying.

ZZZ

Felipe heard the wagon coming his way and steered Tornado towards some boulders, hiding behind them.

"Why did you not want us to kill them all, Señora?" He heard a man ask.

"Because there would have been no point to that. I want them to suffer for the rest of their miserable lives in the knowledge that the two people they loved most just died in agony before their very eyes, and that their souls will burn in Hell for all eternity." She answered.

Felipe's heart cringed at hearing her voice and at the meaning of her words, now fearing the worst. Just then, as the people passed by the boulders behind which he was hiding, Mendoza and his lancers arrived, suddenly finding themselves face-to-face with the very bandits they were looking for. Since none of them had seen them, though, they were just about to ignore them and move along when the Sergeant recognized Señora Risendo, and rapidly made all the right connections in his mind. She was a criminal whom everyone believed dead and who hated the De la Vegas. She was also accompanied by exactly as many men as Felipe had mentioned to have taken Diego and Don Alejandro.

"It's them! Men, arrest them!" He suddenly ordered his men, who, for once, hurriedly obeyed his orders, not giving the thugs even the chance to draw their weapons. "Where are Don Alejandro and Don Diego?" He asked their new prisoners. "And don't deny it was you who ̶ "

"Don Diego is dead and Don Alejandro is crying over him in a cabin situated half a mile east of here. Your Alcalde is also there, crying over his dead wife." She cut him off to proudly inform him.

When Felipe heard that, he came out from behind the boulders and hurriedly made his way towards the cabin.

Mendoza took a few moments to process her words, barely even noticing Zorro had just galloped away. As soon as he was able to recover enough from the shock, he ordered his men to disarm the prisoners, tie them up and take them to Los Angeles. About five minutes later he also headed in the direction of the cabin together with Sepulveda, who was dragging behind the De la Vega horses they had found on their way there.

ZZZ

As he reached the house, Felipe dismounted and burst through the door, then stopped in his tracks for a few moments at the image before him.

Don Alejandro raised his eyes to see who it was. "Zorro! Thank God it's you!" He uttered with a smile Felipe only understood when Diego also turned around to stare at him open-mouthed.

De Soto's face at seeing the man he considered his nemesis reflected the same amount of surprise and puzzlement as his former schoolmate's, especially since he had almost convinced himself the tall caballero was Zorro.

Seeing how Felipe was just staring at him, doubtful about what he should do next, Diego glanced towards the door. "Do you, by any chance, have some water with you, Senor Zorro? I fear I might faint soon due to thirst." He uttered, hoping his son would understand what he wanted.

The masked man used his Toledo-steel sword to free him, then signaled with his head for the caballero to accompany him, making sure to hurry so that nobody would be able to notice how much taller Diego was compared to him.

Diego followed him outside, leaving the door half-open and the other three people rather confused as he exited. By signs, he then asked Felipe how was he able to find them, and his adopted son hurriedly explained everything. Diego smiled, nodded, and took the opportunity to make sure De Soto was convinced he and Zorro were different people.

"Gracias for the water, Señor Zorro!" He said in a loud enough voice to be heard from inside, thus covering the delay in their discussion as Felipe, just remembering the water, reached in the saddlebags to give him the flask he had with him.

"You really looked like you needed it, Don Diego" The tall caballero meanwhile replied himself in Zorro's voice, proceeding to have a monologue which seemed a dialogue to anyone who didn't know it was the same person speaking.

"Yes. Ah… How did you find us?" The people inside heard Diego ask.

"Señora Risendo informed Sergeant Mendoza where you were, and I… happened to also be there when she did. The lancers have her and her men in their custody." Diego replied to his own question in Zorro's voice again. "But I need to leave now, Tornado is injured, and I fear the lancers might catch me if I don't have a large enough head start. Please take the water to give to the others. Adios!" As he said that, he nodded and Felipe mounted the stallion with a knowing smile.

"Adios y gracias, Señor Zorro! Do you know how far the lancers are from here?" Diego proceeded to ask in his normal voice as the two of them could already hear the Sergeant and his man.

"A little too close for my comfort." He replied in Zorro's voice, winking at Felipe who galloped away in the opposite direction from whence he came, thus avoiding Mendoza and Sepulveda.

A few moments later Diego returned to the cabin. "Who wants water? Father? Jessie? Ignacio?" He asked joyously.

"I do!" Jessie answered, and he headed towards her to untie her knots, after which he offered her the water flask. "I guess we can count ourselves lucky. Zorro just told me Mendoza has Señora Risendo in custody, so we shouldn't be in anymore danger." The caballero told everyone with a smile as more horse hoofs were heard from outside.

"Yes, we heard your conversations with that masked fiend!" De Soto informed him.

"Don Diego, Doctor Kent, you are alive!" Mendoza muttered incredulously from the doorway, just about a minute or two later, as he hurried inside, seeing the two of them doing their best to free Don Alejandro and Ignacio, respectively.

"We are, indeed, Sergeant!" Diego confirmed with a grin.

"When did you become such a great tracker to get to us almost at the same time as Zorro, Mendoza?" De Soto asked, still rather confused about the events of the afternoon.

"I'm not, Alcalde. We were heading for the place where Don Felipe told us he, Don Diego and Don Alejandro had been attacked, and we saw Zorro just as he found the trail. We've been following him for most of the afternoon… and then we found Señora Risendo half a mile from here, together with her men. She told us you were here and that Don Diego and the Doctor were dead. But I am so glad everyone is alive!"

"We owe that to Diego. Had he not been as smart as he is, who knows what might have happened?" Jessie replied as De Soto couldn't help but be a little disappointed his intuition had proven so utterly wrong. The idea of finally outing Zorro appealed to him, even if he was conflicted about him turning out to be Diego de la Vega.

"Perhaps you should follow Zorro again, Sergeant. Tornado has been injured and you might just capture him this time." The Alcalde considered.

Jessie gave him a look which left no doubt in Ignacio's mind as to what the consequences of sending the lancers after Zorro would be for him, in terms of sleeping arrangements, for several nights, at the least.

"On second thought, he did help you find us… although, he did nothing to save us." Ignacio told Mendoza.

ZZZ

"I don't care for executions, but it will hardly upset me to witness this one. That woman cost me a son and almost ended up taking you away, as well. " Don Alejandro told Diego the following day, as Ynez Risendo was being escorted to the scaffold. They were both standing on the tavern's terrace, Jessie, Victoria and Felipe right next to them.

One of the lancers put the noose around the woman's neck, and De Soto read the accusations. She just grinned triumphantly at him, not even noticing the list of her misdeeds didn't mention anything about her part in the death of the two people she was still certain to have perished the previous evening. The Alcalde had decided against enlightening her about the entire act, and nobody else told her, either. In all fairness, her confession to have killed the servant who had unwillingly helped her steal Gilberto, and the abduction of the De Sotos and the De la Vegas were more than enough reason to have her sentenced to death.

As her eyes were scanning the crowd for the grieving Alejandro de la Vega, they fell on the very-much-alive Diego and Jessie, and her smile faded, just as the lever was pulled.


End file.
